Shoe grip



Sept. 6, 1932.. T. G. YOUMANS SHOE GRIP Filed April 9, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 7Zoma'5 (Ia n h;

Sept. 6, 1932. YQUMANS' 1,876,195

SHOE GRIP Filed April 9, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Sept. 6, 1932 THOMAS enan'r YOUMANS, or, WILMINGTON, DELAWARE IS F Application at April 9,

This invention relates to shoe grips primarily intended, for use on the soles ofsport I shoessuch as worn by golf players and may either be embodied in a plate'or plates of any suitable material to be attached to thelower face of the sole of the shoe or may be formed as an integral part of a plastic sole of any material suitable to the purpose.

The primary objects of the invention are to provide a grip having a central anchoring point or portion serving as a pivot or turning point in cooperation with a plurality of portions disposed on opposite sides of said pivot point in pairs, the portions of each pair be ing disposed at equi-di'stant points from said pivot point, and all of the portions of said pairs of portions being concentric with-said central pivot; to provide a grip having a cen tral anchoring point in association with laterally disposed segmental ribs, said segmenr ta-l ribs serving to permit a turning movement of the foot about the pivotal anchoring point and setting up a frictional contact with the ground to exert a braking action, whereby an abrupt turning of the foot is prevented; and to provide in such a grip a. construction whereby the engagement of the respective pairs of arcuate or segmenal ribs will be progressive radially outwardly from the pivotal 0 pomt whereby the degree of friction exerted to resist. the turning movement will be'dependent upon the condition of the particular spot ofground, it being self-evident that the grip will sink further into damp or moist ground under the wearers weight than it will in hard ground and the frictional resistance of hard ground will be considerably greater, and therefore require less frictional contact, than will be the case in soft ground. Additional objects are to define the details, involving the tapering or feathering of the individual arcuate or segmental ribs both peripherally and radiallyto the end that the said ribs may sink into the turf and may more easily move in a path concentric with the central pivotal-point and will not constitute abrupt projections objectionable to the wearer; and to provide an arcuatetoe plate which may be used by way of supplement to the -main grip plate and which will be so GRIP f 7 1932. Serial 1 604,295.

formed and so positionedon theshoe' that its arcuate-gripping ribs will be'disposed concentric with relation to the pivot point of the main gripping plate and in which the gripping ribs will be progressively larger in cross section ina direction radially outward from said pivotal point so as to be successively brought into play in the normal rocking movement of the foot in walking.

In this-application I show and describe merely several preferred embodiments. of my invention, simply by .way of illustration of the practice thereof, as by law required.

However, I am well aware that various A changes and alterations may be made in the several details thereof without departing from my said invention, and therefore the present drawings and description are to be considered as merely illustrative and not as exclusive. In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 represents a bottom plan view of a shoesole with an embodiment of my invention applied thereto;

Figure 2 represents a sectional view through the main grip plate 1, said view-being taken on the line 22, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Figure?) represents a sectlonal viewtaken through grip plate 1 on the line 3-3, looking in the direction of the arrows; c Figure 4 represents a sectional view through supplementary or toe plate 2, said view being taken on a line corresponding to line 3-3 of Fig. 1; 1' Figure 5 represents a longitudinal sectional view takenon the line 33 of Fig. 1,

illustrating the position of the shoe and plate 1 when the heel is resting on the ground or beforethe normal upward movement of the heel and forward and downward rocking of the ball of the foot are started incident to the normal walking movement; I v Figure 6, a view similar to Fig. 5,.but illustrating the position of the shoe sole A and the plate 1 when the heel has been raised and when the weight of the wearer is disposed on the ball of the foot during the turning movement of the foot about the pivotal or anchoring point 3 during a golf stroke;

Figure 7, a view similar to Fig. 2, illustrating a slight modification;

Figure 8, a View similar to Fig. 1, illustrating a further modification, or more properly speaking, different mode of association with the shoe sole, wherein the grip is molded with, and formed as an integral part of, the shoe sole; and

Figure 9, a greatly enlarged magnified,-

fragmentary, sectional view taken on a line corresponding to the line 22 of Fig. 1, through the central part of any one of the segmental or arcuate ribs 4:, 5, 6 and 7, illustrating the'preferred cross sectional form of said ribs, this cross sectional form of rib preferably being used in all illustrated embodiments of the invention, including the modification illustrated. in Fig. 8,it being understood of course that in the latter instance the extcrnal cross sectional profile of the ribs shall agree with the form illustrated in Fig. 9 even though said ribs are of plastic material and will not be hollow as shown in Fig. 9, but on the contrary will be solid.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, A designates the shoe sole to which are to be applied the main grip plate 1 and the supplementary toe grip plate 2.

The plate 1 is preferably circular in form, of such size as to extend transversely across the ball portion of the shoe sole A. and is downwardly dished so as to have a convex lower face formed on a very gentle are, said plate 1 being secured in position on the shoe sole A by any suitable means, such as for instance, nails 8. This dished construction whereby the plate 1 is given a convex lower face, results in forcing all portions of the outer peripheral edge firmly against the shoe sole, whereby entry of dirt or foreign matter between the plate 1 and the shoe sole is effectually guarded against. In this connection it is to be said that where the plate 1 is formed separately and then applied to the shoe sole A, the plate 1 is to be made of any suitable sufliciently durable, strong, resilient material, preferably stainless steel or some other suitable metal, of such thickness and tensile strength as to support the weight of the wearer so that even in walking on ahard surface, such as concrete, the plate 1 will not be spread, or crushed, or permanently deformed, and so that the dished construction or convex construction will be retained to the end that the weight of the wearer may be exerted at the outer periphery of the plate 1 to maintain a dirt-tight joint between the plate 1 and the sole A at all points.

The plate 1 is formed with a centrally'disposed downwardly depending anchoring pivotal point 3, which constitutes the central points about which the wearers foot rotates during the various progressive positions of the wearers foot and leg incident to executing the given stroke and during such progressive movements the foot is rocked to the position illustratedin Fig. 6 and the wearers weight is disposed directly over said central point.

The plat-e1 is formed with a plurality of pairs of opposed arcuateor segmental ribs, the ribs of each pair being disposed at equidistant points on opposite sides of the central point 3,"an'd the respective ribs of the respective pairs being concentrically disposed with relation to each other and preferably arranged at equal distances apart in a radial direction; In the drawings 1 have illustrated four pairs of such ribs, being respectively (l, 5, 6 and '7, the ribs on each side of the pivotal point 3 lying within a single seg: ment of the plate 1, or put differently, the ends of all of the ribes l, 5, 6 and 7 lying on one side of the pivot 3 engaging'an imaginary radial line which intersects the axis of the pivot 8 and engages the opposite ends of the other set of segments 4, 5, 6 and 7 lying on the opposite side of the pivotB, whereby the ribs starting with ribs 7 will be of progressively increasing length in a. peripheral direction radially outward to and including the radially outer rib 4.

Each said segmental or arcuate rib 4, 5, 6 and 7 will preferably be feathered or tapered from its central point both peripherally and radially so that at its true central point, corresponding to the point of its intersection by the section line 2, it will be widest in a. radial direction and will depend from, or extend below tne face of, the plate 1, to the greatest. degree.

Preferably each of these se mental or arouate ribs will be of the construction illustrated in Fig. 9 in cross section, and at all points throughout their length will maintain the relation between their convex outer faces a and their concave inner faces Z).

In operation and under the wearers weight the pivotal point 3 sinks into the ground and the pairs of arcuate ribs 77, 66, 55 and l l progressively engage with and sinkinto the ground, according to the nature and condition of the ground and'the weight of the wearer, the point 3 protruding below all of the said arcuate ribs and serving to. definitely anchor the wearers footand to establish a pivotal point. In the turning movement of the foot incident to the execution of a stroke the tapered construction of the ribs will facilitate their concentric movement about the axis of pivot- 3 and their arcuate form will aid them to move in a path concentric with said axis of pivot point 3, the extreme rotary movement usually not exceeding about to 200 degrees. With the preferred cross sectional form of the ribs, illustrated in 9, the convex radially outer face a has a tendency to exert a force radially inwardly, so re- 'trica'lly to the of pivot 3.

sisting side slip, and'the concave radially inner face 5, presenting an abrupt shoulder to the groundyresists any tendency to ride up over the ground in a radially inv direction and so prevents side slip in the reverse direce tion; and also provides for forming adefinite dirt shoulder acting to guidethe rib concen- Also it will be noted that in the case of each of the segmental ribs, the radially'inner, face'is-formed tridy concentric atall points to the axis of pivot point 3, whereas the radiall outer convex faces a thereof are not truly concentric withsaid axis, but their respective end portions are drawn radially inward so as to merge with or intersect their inner faces, thus providing cam action exerting its force radially inwardlthis being true of each end portion of all of the arcuate or segmental ribs on both sides of th pivot '3, so that the inward compressing cam action exerted on the one side of the pivot 3 is opposed to the same degree by the similar action exerted on the otherside of the pivot 3.

Preferably the lowest point of all of said segmental or arcuate ribs engage a common imaginary line parallel tothe face of plate 1 and taken in a plane corresponding to line 2-2 of Fig. 1. I

Tale modification illustrated in Fig. 7 corresponds in construction. and operation'in all respects to that above described, except that the radially inner pair of segmental or arcuate ribs 7 is omitted to make room for the downward depressing of the central portion 1a of the plate 1, from the central portion of which depends the anchoring pivot 3a, this construction resulting in a composite anchoring pivot 16;, 3c, having the wide or large base particularly adapting the grip plate for use on golf courses which are particularly soft or for use during those times of the year when golf courses generally are moist or soggy. V

The construction and operation of the modification shown in Fig. 8 are in all respects the same as described with relation to Figs. 1 to 6, inclusive, and 9, except that the grip is molded or otherwise formed with the shoe sole as an integral part thereof. Nheu formed as an integral part of the shoe sole plastic material should be used which would maintain the convex lower face of the grip under the conditions of use. Such a material should be tough. and resilient so as to permit the usual movement of the foot joints and muscles unhindered and at thsame time should be relatively stiif so as to maintain the proper form of the grip, l in this sense a stiff resilient mate ial of a tough plastic nature.

In all forms the operative face of the grip will preferably be smooth so as to avoid undue friction with the ground during the normal turning movement. The individual lowerv faces of the individual'ribs will likewise besmooth and for the same reason.

The supplemental toe plate 2 may be used inassociation with the main grip 1 in any of the forms mentioned, although its use is the plate 1 may be used not essential. and totally independent of 'the toe plate 2. lVhere the toe plate 2 is used it. willbe secured to the toe portion of the sole A in such position that its respective arcuate ribs 8, 9 and 10 are concentric with the axis of the anchoring point-3 of the main grip plate 1, the radiallyouter rib'8 depending to great-' est degree below thcsoleA, the rib 10 depending to the least degree and the rib 9 depending to a straight line engaging the faces of ribs and8, so that said ribs 8, 9 and 10 will practically simultaneously engage the ground as the foot is rocked forward in walking, the main purpose of the toe plate 2 being to prevent excessive rock oflthe foot forward-about the center of the main grip plate l andto provide a good wallnng grip and to prevent sllpping during walking on hilly or slippery ground. Havlng thus described my lnvention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. A. shoe grip comprising a tread portion having adownwardly presented convex face and being formed with a plurality of pairs of downwardly depending arcuate gripping ribs and a centrally disposed anchoring pivot point depending downward beyond all of said ribs, d ribs being arranged in pairs equidistantly disposed on opposite sides of said anchoring pivot poi nt, the respective sets of ribs being disposed in diametrically opposite segments of said plate and having their lowest points disposed on an imaginary line parallel to the face of said tread portion and ,z 1 V. m .c the radial centers or ments and the axis'of said anchoring pivot point, each said rib having its radially inner face disposed con-centric to the axis of said anchoring pivot point and being tapered upward from its lowest central point toward its respective end portions to merge with the surface ofthe tread portion, and the radially inner faceof each arcuate rib being substantially vertical for most of-its'length and merging by an abruptconcave curve with the lower face of the tread portion, and the radially outer face of each saidrib being of a down wardly sloping convex contour merging with the lower face of said tread portion.

2. A shoe grip comprising a tread portion having a downwardly presented convex face and being formed with a pair of sets of segmental downwardly depending arcuate gripping ribs and a centrally disposed anchoring pivot point depending downward beyond all of said ribs, the respective sets of ribs being disposed in diametrically opposite segments of said plate and having their lowest points intersected by a vertical plane intersecting the axis of said pivot point, each said rib having its radially inner face disposed con.- centric to the axis of said anchoring pivot point and tapered upward from its lowest central point toward its respective end portions to merge with the surface of the main tread portion.

3. A shoe grip consisting of a dished resili ent sheet metal disc having a convex lower face and being formed with a plurality of pairs of segmental downwardly depending arcuate gripping ribs and a centrally disposed anchoring pivot point depending downward beyond all of said ribs, said ribs being arranged in pairs earn-distantly disposed on opposite sides of said anchoring pivot point, the respective sets of ribs being disposed in diametrically opposite segments of said plate and having their lowest points all disposed in substantially the same vertical plane, each said rib having its radially inner face disposed concentric to the axis of said anchoring pivot point and its radially outer face ecceniric thereto and being tapered upward from its lowest central point toward its respective end portions to merge with the surface of the disc.

4. A shoe grip consisting of a dished resilient sheet metal disc having a convex lower face and being formed with a pair of sets of segmental downwardly depending arcuate gripping ribs and a centrally disposed anchoring pivot point depending downward beyond all of said ribs, the respective sets of ribs being disposed in dia metrically opposite segments of said plate, each said rib having its radially inner face disposed concentric to the axis of said anchoring ivot point and its radially outer face eccentric thereto, there being large smooth segmental portions of said plate interposed between said ribbed segments.

5. A shoe grip consisting of a dished resilient sheet metal plate having a convex lower face and being formed with a pair of sets of segmental downwardly depending arcuate gripping ribs and a centrally disposed anchoring pivot point depending doWnward beyond all of said ribs, the respective sets of ribs being disposed in diametrically opposite segments of said plate and having their lowest points all disposed in substantially the same vertical plane, each said rib having its radially inner face disposed concentric to the axis of said anchoring pivot point, there being large smooth segmental portions of said plate interposed between said ribbed segments.

6. A shoe grip consisting of an element having a convex lower face and being formed with a pair of sets of segmental downwardly depending arcuate gripping ribs and a centrally disposed anchoring vpivot point depending downward beyond all of said ribs, 

